Encyclopaedia Galactica – Profanity in the Geminga Sphere and the Tannhauser Domain.

Encyclopaedia Galactica – Profanity in the Geminga Sphere and the Tannhauser Domain.

While this is without a doubt not an exhaustive list, it is a good representative sampling.

Before we proceed further, you should maybe desensitize yourself to vulgar language:

Shazbot!

Holy Flurking Schnit!

Zarking Fardwarks!

E chu ta, Keepuna Kriffing Sith-Spawn Bantha Pootoo sniffing Son of a Kriffing Nerf-Herder!

Hezmana, you Grud Grozit Gorram Fracking Frelling Fragging Karking Drokking Crukking Schtako-Sucking Felgercarb Stomm-breath slag-head petaQ-rutting bastiches

Belgium!

I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle

"Frak", often "Frack" comes from our refugee friends formerly of the Kobol (Kolob) Colonies, now living as space-hoboes aboard various Battlestars. "Frak" has a very satisfying sound, starts with an "f" and ends with a "k", what’s not to love? Leading with a fricatives and ending with a plosive, seems to be very popular with profanity. "Don't frack with me." Note, 'Frack is the name of the IKEA-made shaving mirror in Commander Adama's cabin. A Cortex (Google for those of you playing from home) search for "+Ikea +frack" appears to confirm this.

"Felgercarb," is another popular Kobolian Refugee obscenity, faeces reference.

The thinly disguised minced oath "Gorram" has become popular due in no small part from the gradual trickling of those high-spirited fast-living lively folks from the Geminga Sphere’s most over populated Star System, 34 Tau. It is possible that it is just a post-slurred version of "God Damned" from the hard drinking crowd. The 34 Tau colonies seem to favour very florid and colourful descriptive words using Chinese, such as "Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng" translates roughly as "frog-humpin' bastard." "Rutting" and "humping" are popular expletives.

The good and gentle people of post apocalyptic St. Louis, who renamed their home Defiance, have a fondness (or compulsion) to use the word "Schtako", which I am guessing is excrement related.

Far and away the most versatile profanity is "Frell". I am not exo- or xeno-linguist (or any kind of linguist), but it seems to me like "frell" can means any curse word you might need in the moment. Second only in versatility to the word "Smurf". "Frell you!" and "What the Frell?". While the much rarer used "bullfrell", seems to indicate faeces, but "Dren" is more often used. "Fennick" seems to translate to something akin to an asshole. "Tralc" seems to translate to bitch or whore, especially when one is referring to someone with disagreeable sexual habits who is also unpleasant (at least to you). "Hezmana" - roughly translates to "hell", though might be closer to 'devil' or 'fuck' in certain contexts.

One could write an entire article just about Klingon Profanity, but "petaQ" is the most widely known and most repeated by non-Klingons. "petaQ", "p’tak", or "Pahtak", or any number of alternate spellings from the masters of modern fast food the Klingons. Don’t stress, no matter what, it is going to look misspelled anyway. While it seems to be used in Klingonese roughly the level of “son of a bitch”, it seems to derive from the word for “weird.” There may be some etymological connection to the Klingon word taQ, meaning "be weird". It’s used so often, you’d almost believe it’s the only insult Klingons have. It isn’t, but it’s certainly one of the most fun to spit at your enemies when full of rage. It is also used the way you might say "jerk", "coward", "weirdo", "freak", "creep", "perv", or even "nerd"! It is also used somehow in a way that others might refer to faeces, such as "You piece of PetaQ". Profanity is more of an art than a science.

One can track the influence of the famously reclusive and elusive Orkans by the use of the swear word "Shazbot", which seems to be used as either "goddamn it" or "You piece of Shazbot", but more generally more like the non-profanity empathy inducing "D’OH!" Note that the coneheaded Remulakians also make used of the word "Shazbot". "Shazbot" is still popular with hipsters.

"Grozit" is not quite as popular as other profanity, but this delightful tidbit of Xenexian profanity from the Federationlist Zone is quite versatile and is getting more use in recent years. Its literal meaning is unknown, but is often used much in the way that one might say "Damn It!" or "D’OH!".

A Galifreyan curse worse that seeped into the popular vernacular of over the years is "cruk", which literally translates as a cheap and primitive way of building a house, later became used to refer to poor people as a pejorative, then to being tired, and eventually devolved in the popular vernacular as a basic crude curse word. It started with "Oh that is just cruk", to "They’re a bunch of cruks", to the tired reference, "I am totally cruked", to the general crude profanity of "Cruk you!", "Who the cruk are you?" and "If it's female, you'll cruk it".

The Sky River Galaxy has only minimal influence on local profanity, calling someone "Sith-Spawn" or the son of a "Nerf-herder", just never had that same sting or bite that profanity of the Mutter’s Spiral and the Geminga Sphere. "Sith-Spit" was popular for a while, but it was before being a sith became equated with being in touch with your feelings and the extreme emotional validation movement. Even adding the general use profanity "Kriff", does not seem to help too much. "You Kriffing Sith-Spawn" or "You Son of a Kriffing Nerf-Herder" just doesn’t make the cut. Plosives followed by Fricatives are just not as popular as Fricatives followed by Plosives. "Kark" is a fair substitute for "Kriff", but just never quite caught on.

A protocol droid named E-3PO on Cloud City says "E chu ta!" to C-3PO. If C-3PO's reaction is any indication it was either an insult or an obscenity. It is otherwise untranslated, but does pop up from time to time.

Other known profanity from the Sky River Galaxy is when Sebulba calls Anakin "Bantha Pootoo", but is also spoken by Jabba the Hutt. While usually included in connection with bantha’s, "Pootoo" seems to also be used as a standalone profanity.

Other Huttese swear words include "Keepuna!", loosely translated as "Shoot!" in the minced oath sense of the word, instead of "Pootoo".

Rigellians, at least the giant one eyed octopoid Rigellians, have been heard to exclaim "Holy Flurking Schnit!". Linguists are still trying to piece it together.

The various Mega-City colonies have some popular profanity which has seeped into broader usage. The three Justice Department Approved swear words were 'stomm' ('shit'), 'drokk' ('fuck') and of course the ever popular 'grud' ('god'). "You Grud Drokking Stomm-Head!

The various cyberpunk enclaves and shadowrun colonies have some popular slang word "frag! " Please note the drift from the Cyberpunk enclaves to the esteemed Babylon-5 where the phrase "Abso-fragging-lutely, dammit" had been heard, by the unlikely source the ultra-proper Ambassador Delenn, who possibly picked up that phrase from Captain John Sheridan whom she later married. Lobo often used the word "frag" in the same context as it was used in the various cyberpunk enclaves and shadowrun colonies. "Frag" is also heard in the Beast Wars and Cowboy Bebop.

The Interstellar Bounty Hunter "Lobo" popularized the term "bastidges", also spelled "bastiches".

Speaking of Beast Wars, "slag" seems to be used as "shit".

I am not sure if it was somehow a quirk or glitch in the older translators, but "Belgium" was for a very long time the most inappropriate of profanities, the foulest word that can be uttered. At least in the Betelgeuse/Bellatrix/Tannhauser Gate Hitchhiker Regions, but apparently not on Old Sol Earth-That-Was, where they were too dense to get it.

"Zarking Fardwarks!" is popular in the Betelgeuse/Bellatrix/Tannhauser Gate Hitchhiker Regions. This joyful exclamation, although untranslated, seems to speaks for itself. Part of its popularity is that it even feels like saying it wrong could land you in hot water. It's just too very satisfying to say it, even if you don’t know what it means. "ZARKING FARDWARKS!"

On the surface, "I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle" doesn't sound insulting at all. But as we've learned, the most seemingly innocuous words can have incredibly obscene meanings when translated into alien languages. Apparently, "in the Vl'hurg tongue... 'I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle' is the most dreadful insult imaginable," so just watch who you moan about your job or spouse to in future.

Although un-translated, as chronicled in "Songs of Distant Earth", the only swear word used on Thalassa is the word "Kraken".

"Snoodle" and "Tribbles" are reference to a certain sexual acts that are not allowed to be broadcast in some polities.

This is well illustrated by the lyrics of the popular song "Frack You (Very Much)"

Look inside

Look inside your tiny mind

Now look a bit harder

'Cause we're so uninspired, so sick and tired of all the hatred you harbor

So you say It's not okay to be gay

Well I think you're just evil

You're just some racist who can't tie my laces

Your point of view is medieval

Frack you!

Cruck you very, very much

'Cause we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Frell you!

Kriff you very, very much

'Cause your words don't translate

And it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

Do you get

Do you get a little kick out of being slow-minded?

You want to be like your father

It's approval you're after

Well that's not how you find it

Do you

Do you really enjoy living a life that's so hateful?

'Cause there's a hole where your soul should be

You're losing control of it and it's really distasteful

Zark you!

Frag you very, very much

'Cause we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Kark you!

Drok you very, very much

'Cause your words don't translate and it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

You say, you think we need to go to war

Well you're already in one,

'Cause its people like you

That need to get slew

No one wants your opinion

Cruk you!

Flurkyou very, very much

'Cause we hate what you do

And we hate your whole crew

So please don't stay in touch

Frack you!

Frell you very, very much

'Cause your words don't translate and it's getting quite late

So please don't stay in touch

Flurk you, Zark you, Krif you

Frack you, Frel you, Frag you,

Kark you, Drok you, Cruk you,

Belgium! I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle